Drug dealer caught red-handed, court told

A police inspector yesterday told a magistrate how, following days of surveillance, a man was caught red-handed handing over a brown package, allegedly containing over one kilogramme of cocaine, to his wife outside their house in Qormi.

Police Inspector Dennis Theuma said the cocaine was seized a day later when the police raided the couple's house and also found more than Lm33,000 in cash in batches of Lm1,000.

Inspector Theuma was testifying during the compilation of evidence against Stiano Agius, 26, and his 29-year-old wife, Eleonor Tracy, who stand charged with conspiring to deal in cocaine, money laundering and using money deriving from drug trafficking for business deals.

The husband and wife are also being charged with possessing cocaine found in circumstances denoting it was not for their personal use. Mr Agius alone is also pleading not guilty to trafficking cocaine, possessing ammunition without a licence and possessing counterfeit cash. He was also charged with relapsing.

Testifying before Magistrate Miriam Hayman, Inspector Theuma explained that earlier this month, the police received confidential information about possible drug trafficking from a residence in Qormi.

He said he ordered round-the-clock surveillance and on November 9, the police officers stationed outside the house observed Mr Agius arrive in a BMW X5. Seconds later Ms Agius emerged from the house, he gave her a package that had several turns of brown tape and drove off.

The following day, after obtaining a search warrant from the inquiring magistrate, the Drug Squad police raided the house and searched it top to bottom. The inspector said that in a drawer in the dining table, the police found the package Mr Agius was seen giving his wife the previous day. He said this package contained a substance that looked like cocaine.

The police also found paraphernalia related to drug trafficking including electronic weighing scales, as well as a jar containing ammunition.

In another drawer, the police found Lm15,000 in cash packed in batches of Lm1,000 each while upstairs, in a safe in the corridor, the police found a further Lm18,000 which were also prepared in batches. The police also found jewellery and a fake Lm10 note.

Inspector Theuma went on to explain that during interrogation, Mr Agius admitted that the package containing the cocaine was the third one that a Libyan had asked him to keep for a few days until he collected it and that he would receive Lm1,000 for each occasion. The inspector said Mr Agius also told him that he never took drugs and never trafficked in them.

When asked, Mr Agius said he knew the package contained cocaine.

Inspector Theuma said that during interrogation, Mrs Agius opted not to reply to any questions about the cocaine.

A number of experts and representatives of various banks told the court about the accounts the accused held with their banks. The court heard that Ms Agius had a job while Mr Agius was unemployed between 1999 and 2005 and was now employed as a part-time driver. Over the years, he had received over Lm5,700 in unemployment benefits.

The case continues.

Police Inspector Theuma is prosecuting. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared for the defence.